Our House

DOMINION LENDING CENTRES OUR HOUSE WINTER 2018 25 PAUL JOSEPH The retired life is anything but for athletes Ashleigh McIvor and Jay DeMerit. Since leaving the pitch in 2014, DeMerit has launched a handcrafted stereo€manufacturer€called the€Portmanteau Stereo Co., while also creating a curriculum and running a€soccer-focused yet all- encompassing youth€development program called Captains Camps. Meanwhile, McIvor will be in front of the camera joining CBC's coverage of the 2018 Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, and as an analyst for the World Cup Skicross season. And she's got some pretty big predictions for the ski team this year. "We have the best skicross team in the world," she says. "I have no doubt that we will bring more medals home in 2018. Unfortunately one of our best hopes, reigning Olympic champion Marielle Thompson, just blew her knee. One of the amazing things about Canada Skicross is just how deep the talent pool is. Every one of our athletes has the ability to win an Olympic medal." McIvor is also still fascinated by the Games and the attention they hold every four years. The four-year interval is part of what draws spectators in, she believes. Viewers instinctively understand that these athletes are competing under the highest- pressure conditions they will ever face, and that their chance to prove themselves is fleeting in their sporting careers, let alone their entire lifespans. With all of the support that goes into sports programming for each nation focused on increasing the chances of winning more Olympic medals, every taxpaying spectator feels like they have played a role in getting these athletes to the big show, she adds. "Beyond that, I think that we all recognize the positive impact success on that level will have on our nation's youth as they watch it all unfold," McIvor says. "There are so many valuable life lessons that can be learned through sport. It's the greatest metaphor for real-life survival and strategies for success and fulfilment." "I don't think we would have been able to permanently make the move to 340 square feet, and get rid of all the stuŽ we think we need to live the city life, or even the Whistler life," McIvor says. While the cabin in the woods may be small, it isn't without a few luxuries, McIvor points out. It has a full-sized washer and dryer, in-floor heating in the bathroom, granite countertops and, of course, the hot tub. Still, the family has noticed a diŽerence scaling back their lifestyle during their time there. "We used to eat out all the time. Like, three meals a day, often. When you live in a cabin in the woods, or even just in a small town, you exhaust your dine-out options pretty quickly and inevitably learn to love cooking at home. And let's face it, there is probably a lot of extra fat and sugar going into most restaurant dishes," McIvor says. "We both felt so much healthier after a few weeks of home-cooked meals and yummy juices/smoothies. And eating out is expensive—albeit less so when you're a sober, pregnant or breastfeeding woman. It was a good lesson in just how little we could spend, given the chance to remove ourselves from the city life.It's funny though, when it comes to essentialism, the way I see it, we should all spend less so we can work less." While DeMerit tends to his soccer camps and stereo company, McIvor is headed to Pyeongchang to help host Olympic skicross coverage in February

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